DJ Cronin: Advocating for Volunteerism

Sunday, February 17, 2019

“Such
is the upside-down, topsy-turvy state of our world that the children are now
the adults and the adults are the children.”

So
leads Jonathon Freedland in his recent article in the Guardian titled - The
school climate change strikes are inspiring – but they should shame us

I’ve
written before about the school climate change strikes and other climate action
volunteering but there seems to be so little if any scrutiny or discussion
about this form of volunteering within the volunteering or volunteer management
sector itself.

We
boast when we talk about “new and emerging trends” that we are way ahead of
them or at least anticipating them but we are still stuck in a quagmire of
volunteer management discussion focussing on us and our struggle to be taken
seriously. Perhaps the emperor has no clothes.

Meanwhile,
and pardon the French, the world is facing a shit storm. It’s called climate
change. It is real, it is threatening and it should be frightening the socks
off you all.

It
is frightening our youth enough, that they have opted to volunteer for a noble
cause…like…saving the planet for their future.

As
Freedland goes on to say “It has fallen to those so young they are not trusted
to decide what they can eat or when they can go to bed to sound the alarm about
the crisis that matters most: the crisis of the climate.”

How
soon will it be before more Not for Profits take up the cause of fighting to save
the planet. If they are now fighting for humanitarianism, for alleviation of poverty
or for social justice or for refugees how soon will it be before they realise
that it all will be further interconnected by the crisis that is not around the
corner but here now. This is not a long
stretch of the bow.

Back
to Freedland’s article “Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg, an early and tireless
environmental advocate, is right to say
that the #FridaysForFuture movement is “not the first great change to begin
with the action of just one person”: from Abraham onwards, our history and
tradition is full of people who, alone at first, changed the world.”

How often in
our speeches and writings and blogs and newsletters do we write “Volunteers
change the world?”

And yet, with this
volunteering movement growing around the world why do we seem to be missing its
significance? What can we as a sector learn about;

·Volunteers
self-organising

·Organising
at scale

·Motivation
of young people

·Mass
civil action

·Innovative
modes of management

·The
power of social media to mobilise volunteers.

Yes there are
critics of these new movements springing up and a certain cynicism about youth
action and you can read about those in the article as well. And yet we have
heard that cynicism in the Volunteer management world as well. We have all come
across one of these statements

“Young people
are not reliable volunteers”

“Never take on
students”

“Young people don’t
stay”

“Young people
are doing volunteering for selfish reasons”

And we may face
cynicism in our own sector as well about the very notion that this is a
volunteering movement. Some will argue that it is activism rather than
volunteerism.

In a separate article
written for the Guardian George Monbiot wrote about these children leaving
their classes to protest against climate change - My
generation trashed the planet. So I salute the children striking back

“The
Youth Strike 4 Climate
gives me more hope than I have felt in 30 years of campaigning. Before this
week, I believed it was all over. I thought, given the indifference and
hostility of those who govern us, and the passivity of most of my generation,
that climate breakdown and ecological collapse were inevitable. Now, for the first time in
years, I think we can turn them around.

By
combining your determination and our experience, we can build a movement big enough
to overthrow the life-denying system that has brought us to the brink of
disaster – and beyond. Together we must demand a different way, a life-giving
system that defends the natural world on which we all depend. A system that
honours you, our children, and values equally the lives of those who are not
born. Together, we will build a movement that must – and will – become
irresistible.”

By combining your determination
and our experience! What can our sector learn from this powerful sentiment?

Can
we see the trees for the forest before there are no trees left at all?

The
volunteer sector needs to be discussing this. The silence is deafening.

Sunday, January 6, 2019

Have you come across the word “Disrupt” What exactly is it? According to Melanie Burgess in an article written for News.com “ In a nutshell, positive disruption is corporate terminology for changing things up and solving problems from a new perspective. It is closely linked to another buzzword, innovation. The most commonly used example of disruption is ride-sharing mobile app Uber, where the creators disrupted the taxi industry by solving the problem of expensive transport and tackling it from a peer-to-peer perspective.” Melanie goes on to write “ Despite disruption often coming in the form of new technologies, a Randstad survey reveals more than four in five Australians are unconcerned by the idea of technological advances affecting their job in the future.”

Melanie goes on to quote Juanita Wheeler, organiser of TEDxBrisbane and founder of consulting firm Full & Frank who says the best way to become a disrupter is to read.

“The greatest minds and the people most innovative and creative and continuously looking for better solutions across all aspects of life are people who read,” Juanita says. “They might see an idea in architecture and apply it in science or see an idea in a travel company and apply it to foreign aid funding.” She recommends reading research articles from universities as well as keeping up-to-date on science, technology and current affairs. “The more widely you read, the more inquisitive and creative your ideas become,” she says. “It’s completely out of vogue to some extent but to me it’s everything. The beauty of it is that reading is free.”

Linda Ronnie writing for The Conversation in an article titled “Why it’s important for HR to get out in front of workplace disruption” states “There is no doubt that future workplaces are going to look different and that they’ll be run differently too. More and more companies are hiring freelancers and remote work among full-time employees is also becoming the new normal.”

Is it important for Volunteer Leadership to get out in front of workplace disruption? I say - of course!

As Linda says “ Monitoring teams and keeping up to date with projects can be done via a number of platforms and more electronic solutions will become available over time. Already, companies are making use of cloud-based solutions, voice technology and machine learning to manage their people”

We cannot afford to miss the relevance of this in the volunteering space. How can we adapt to new and emerging technologies that can assist us in harnessing the power of community giving for our organisations?

The traditional modus operandi of volunteer engagement still continues but if we fail to read, be inquisitive and to be creative we will be left behind. Take for example an this in Linda’s article:

“Global consumer goods giant, Unilever, is already taking advantage of this. It’s launched a pioneering digital recruitment process that’s shortened its hiring cycle from four months to just two weeks. This saves 50,000 hours of candidate time while reducing recruiter screening time by a massive 75%. More than that, the process is fun and rewarding for candidates and they get better feedback about their participation regardless of whether they are successful or not.”

Now apply this to how we recruit volunteers? Is your process fun and rewarding for volunteer candidates? It should be! Could you reduce your volunteer recruitment screening time by 75%?

As Linda says “ New approaches are appealing especially to Millennials and the Generation Zs – young people who are tech savvy and used to interacting on multiple platforms, and who will dominate work spaces of the future.”

How are we converting that talent and those skills into volunteering? The idea of disruption brings up many questions for us in the sector.

Are we shifting the mode of volunteering to suit volunteering of the future?

Are we using the right language to recruit the next gen of volunteering?

Are we harnessing present and emerging technology to drive innovative volunteering?

Are we reading and continuously looking for better solutions across all aspects of volunteering?

I believe that some groups are doing well. They are mostly in the Activist sphere where they are mobilising at place and harnessing technology to be agile and effective. We can learn a lot from them. We must to simply keep up and to do so we must disrupt!

Friday, December 28, 2018

Recently, as readers of this blog know well, I participated
in a public demonstration and march in Brisbane. The march was to #stopadani.
Adani want to open a new coal mine in the Galilee Basin in Queensland. Right
now their trucks and machinery are sitting on the land waiting for the final go
ahead. People power will stop this mine. And I have now found myself as a
volunteer activist. The people power movement is being led, in many instances
by our youth. My motivation for volunteering is my kids. Climate Change is real
and climate action must take place now.

Getting back to the march. I got up early one fine Saturday morning
to take the 50 minute train ride to the Adani HQ in the city of Brisbane. I
arrived far too early but decided to head to the site anyway. I couldn’t miss
where Adani calls home in Brisbane. A tall golden building. I felt it rather
apt. On arrival I was surprised to find a small group of people gathered around
the front of the building. Not knowing anyone I just walked up and stood with them.
In front of them were a small team of about four who were addressing them. They
were all young and all very energetic. I looked around me to discover I was probably
one of the oldest there bar maybe a handful. On listening I discovered that I
has accidently joined the core group of volunteers who were organising this
event. Nobody seemed to mind my presence and I stood there for about 20 minutes
as people were coordinated and the planning for the event explained. Road marshals
were picked and people were handed yellow vests. Megaphones were handed out. First
aid officers were pointed out and the police liaison officer was introduced. Banners were given out and I gladly took one.
The coordinators made every one of us feel very welcome. They gave us time for
questions. They told us how inspired they were that we were there. After the
orientation they ran to every volunteer present giving them a high five. The
mood was joyous. Personally I felt I had found my tribe. People I had never met
smiled, spoke to me and made me feel welcome.

In terms of Volunteer management they were super organised.
They were articulate and confident speakers. They knew their job and they knew
how to do it well. They instantly made the volunteers feel welcome and appreciated.
They explained what we had to do and how we would do it. They allowed for
feedback. They were concerned about safety and wellbeing. They respected everyone’s
contribution no matter what task they had.

They would I imagine never consider themselves volunteer managers.
I doubt the crowd assembled even considered themselves volunteers. But here
stood leaders and a community willing to give their time about a cause they
cared about. And on seeing how they were treated and coordinated I have no
doubt that many of them will be back but this time bringing more friends and
family with them.

Over two thousand more turned up that day. Maybe more. There
was passion but there was also joy. The event went off without a hitch and it
gained great media coverage.

I take my hat off to those leaders and volunteers. I am more
hopeful for my future and my kids future because of them. I don’t remember their
names but I will never forget the effect they had on this accidental volunteer.

Thursday, December 27, 2018

2018. An uneventful year for the volunteer management
sector. Certainly in Australia. And I am talking about the traditional sector
of Volunteer Management in Australia. In other countries some progress is being
made. Especially in the UK.

International Volunteer Managers Day had the theme “Be the
Voice” Not a bad theme but be the voice for what? Looking at the fairly mute
reaction I wondered if it was a good theme for a sector afraid to speak out.

Still. It was good to see the day more widely recognised.
The Queensland government actually had a statement on the day. A few days after
I tweeted the Premier. I’d like to think that helped. But not many volunteer
Managers Tweeted about the day. We are ten years behind when it comes to social
media. Most VMs I know are not on Twitter!

I tried. I re-joined my professional association on
Volunteer Management. I took on the social media and Marketing portfolio.
Though I made great inroads in a short time I had to leave after the
publication of a volunteer management survey. A third party and a big player in
the volunteer sector took umbrage in a survey we did on volunteer management. I felt that pressure
was put on our president. They felt we were taking “their space” I was most
disappointed knowing the people involved. A letter from our board with an apology was hastily written. I could not sign. I resigned.

It was not right on many fronts. We need to end the politics
in our sector. There are too many people in our sector in positions of power
who cold be doing better. Some may be doing our sector a disservice. People should
on board to further volunteering and excellence in volunteer leadership and not just enhancing resumes!.Our sector needs
people of passion and commitment and advocacy. We will look back in ten years
hopefully and learn from the present!

Volunteering Victoria has again stood out in Australia in
regard to how peak bodies should behave! South Australia is not too far behind.
Both present fresh perspectives on volunteering and volunteer management.

Volunteer Australia has concentrated much on submissions
to policies that emanates from Canberra but alone is
it doing enough to progress volunteerism and volunteer management? Work like the National Standards are having a positive effect.

AAMOV may cease to exist in 2019. They may have failed to see
that Volunteer Managers need the voice of an advocate. I do hope they reconsider more advocacy because we do need a strong voice.

I still believe we need a national conference or forum on Volunteer Management specifically. The loss of the Retreat for Advanced Volunteer management is a shame. It should be revived.

We need more activist advocacy for the Sector moving
forward. We need fresh voices and new thought. It’s the only way we will gain
some traction and get more relevance in 2019.

Saturday, December 8, 2018

“The policy or action of using vigorous campaigning
to bring about political or social change” – The Oxford Dictionary

A few weeks ago I wrote

“History will record the present era
as one of enormous upheaval and change. Let there be no doubt about that.
Democracy itself is under threat. The middle class is disappearing and the 1%
has more wealth and power than ever before. Scientists are pulling their hair
out as governments around the globe ignore the real threat of climate change.
People are on the move in their millions, displaced by war, hunger, terror and
collapsing economies. Around the globe extreme right wing actors are emboldened
with a louder voice. But what has that
to do with volunteering and with those that lead them? It has everything to do
with us. Because the modern and future volunteer is an activist for the globe.
If there is no leadership on the issues that matter to the people then people
will take matters into their own hands. They will not only be volunteering for
causes that they hold dear. They will be volunteering for the very future of
their planet and for the future of their children and grandchildren. “

Well today I took action. Here is the story of my day.

Saturday morning 6am. I am awake ready to head into the city of
Brisbane. It’s about 55 minutes away by train. It’s also my first day of leave
from work as I take a pre-Christmas vacation with my family. It’s the end of an
extremely busy week at work. I am simply exhausted and have not slept well. I
could just turn over and go back to sleep for the next 3 hours. My body screams
at me to do so. It’s a cloudy day. It isn’t too hot. I don’t have to move.

But this is what volunteering means. I don’t have to and I do. I throw
myself out of bed and hit the shower. Today I am volunteering for the future of
the globe and the future of my kids. I’ve been in Volunteer Management for 23
years. I’ve volunteered for various organisations since I was 16. This feels
different. The feeling of compulsion to do this is particularly strong this
morning.

Last night I had sat down with my young kids to explain what I was
doing. Now let me tell you a bit about the proposed Adani Mine in Queensland
Australia knowing that I have a substantial global audience.

The Carmichael coal
mine is a proposed thermal coal mine in the north of the Galilee Basin in Central
Queensland, Australia. Mining is planned to be conducted by both
open-cut and underground methods. The mine is proposed by Adani Mining, a
wholly owned subsidiary of India's Adani Group.

“Coal is killing us and our planet. Pollution from
burning coal is the single biggest contributor to dangerous global warming,
threatening our way of life. Coal mining drains and pollutes our water
supplies, harms our health and destroys our natural landscape.” – Stop Adani
Website

And so here I am today.

The starting spot for the rally was at 10 Eagle St Brisbane. This
is the HQ for Adani.

I got there far too early but I was glad to do so. With my
interest in Volunteer Management I was delighted to mix with all the event
volunteers who had decided to meet an hour before the March. I was so impressed
by the volunteer coordinators. They gave out roles, they talked about health
and safety, they talked about First Aid, they gave out different colour vests
for different tasks and they were super friendly and welcoming.

There were no forms. No checks. No interviews. No barriers.

Most of the volunteers there at the start were young people. And
this was inspiring.

But I worried as I looked around. I could see only about 50 people
gathered an hour before the rally. I need not have worried. As the rally took
off and marched toward parliament house there were at least a thousand of us!

As you can see I am hopeless with selfies

And we marched. Through the streets of Brisbane.

And it was wonderful.

And it was a start.

But here are a few points I would like to make after my
experience.

·I am not a rusted on Green supporter. I was a
member for a short period and left because no one connected with me.

·I attended today as an ordinary member of the public.
Yes there were people there from schools. There were students. There were
people form the Green movement and the left side of thinking. But this is
bigger than labels. For this movement to work you must win over the ordinary
member of the public. You must win over the office worker and the construction
worker and the bank manager!

·1,000 people in Brisbane today and thousands
of others across the country marching was good. But it is not nearly good
enough. In Brisbane this week 14, 000 might attend a soccer match. Normally 35,
000 will attend a Broncos match. We can be happy but we cannot celebrate a
thousand people marching in our city taking action on one of the greatest
threats to mankind!

·Politicians will not take notice of 1,000
people

·Today we marched on parliament. It was closed.
No one was there.

·Today we protested outside Adani HQ. It was a
Saturday. What was the impact?

What we
need to do

Disrupt

·Nonviolent peaceful resistance: And this will be
the topic of my next blog! Contact me on acim4me@live.com
if you want to take action!

Saturday, December 1, 2018

“History
will record the present era as one of enormous upheaval and change. Let there
be no doubt about that. Democracy itself is under threat. The middle class is
disappearing and the 1% has more wealth and power than ever before. Scientists
are pulling their hair out as governments around the globe ignore the real
threat of climate change. People are on the move in their millions, displaced
by war, hunger, terror and collapsing economies. Around the globe extreme right
wing actors are emboldened with a louder voice.

But what
has that to do with volunteering and with those that lead them? It has
everything to do with us. Because the modern and future volunteer is an
activist for the globe. If there is no leadership on the issues that matter to
the people then people will take matters into their own hands. They will not
only be volunteering for causes that they hold dear. They will be volunteering
for the very future of their planet and for the future of their children and
grandchildren. “

Citizens want to take
action now on the cause they believe in. If we stifle their ambition with too
much paperwork and bureaucracy they will walk away from us and do it anyway.
They will baulk at traditional on boarding methods of volunteering. And they
will demand to see the impact of their volunteering. They will also want more
of a say in how their movement or organisation operates. They will reject
hierarchy. Not for them the bottom rung of the organisational chart! They will
lead and cast aside tired leadership methods, soundbites and ways of doing
things. They will not tolerate any lack of diversity. They will not tolerate
anyone thinking “young people don’t stick around”. They won’t be there for you
every Tuesday at 9am and in fact will be there when they are ready to be there.
They may not accept the title “Volunteer” and will run if you call them a
Vollie. They won’t be patronised and they will tell you to stuff your four hour
orientation program! They will demand you utilise the best technology available
and they will not be silenced on social media. “

What
happened on November 30th 2018

From BBC News

Thousands of Australian school students have urged
greater action on climate change in protests across the country. The students skipped school on Friday to highlight what they say
are inadequate climate policies by the Australian government. On Monday,
Australian PM Scott Morrison rebuked their plans for "activism"
during school hours and insisted his government was tackling climate change. Many
students said his remarks had bolstered their resolve to protest.

"We will be the ones suffering the consequences of the
decisions they [politicians] make today," protester Jagveer Singh, 17,
told the BBC.

From CNN

Thousands
of Australian children skipped school on Friday in defiance of the prime
minister to protest for greater action on climate change. Organizers estimated
around 15,000 left their classrooms in 30 locations across the country,
including Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, carrying signs reading
"procrastinating is our job not yours" and "I've seen smarter
Cabinets at Ikea". Friday's protests followed similar protests in Canberra
and Hobart earlier this week. As the children prepared for three days of
protest, Prime Minister Scott Morrison told Parliament "what we want is
more learning in schools and less activism."

From The DJ Cronin
Blog

Thousands of Australian children have made me so proud of our
youth this weekend. School kids across the country volunteered to do what they
did! They volunteered for the globe. They volunteered for our future. They
volunteered for their own kid’s and grandkids future.

I have seen many marches over many years. I’ve participated in
quite a few. These kids have inspired me to believe there is hope for my own young
kids!

Sunday, November 4, 2018

As another International Volunteer Managers Day dawns I reflect
on its theme which is “Time for change”.

I say that dramatic change is needed right now or our sector
will not be relevant or even exist within ten years.

We have been staring at our naval for far too long and while
the world is changing around us dramatically and scarily we are having the same
old conversations and doing the same old thing we have been doing for eons.

History will record the present era as one of enormous
upheaval and change. Let there be no doubt about that. Democracy itself is under
threat. The middle class is disappearing and the 1% has more wealth and power
than ever before. Scientists are pulling their hair out as governments around
the globe ignore the real threat of climate change. People are on the move in their
millions, displaced by war, hunger, terror and collapsing economies. Around the
globe extreme right wing actors are emboldened with a louder voice.

But what has that to do with volunteering and with those
that lead them? It has everything to do with us. Because the modern and future
volunteer is an activist for the globe. If there is no leadership on the issues
that matter to the people then people will take matters into their own hands.
They will not only be volunteering for causes that they hold dear. They will be
volunteering for the very future of their planet and for the future of their
children and grandchildren.

The way they volunteer, where they volunteer and how they
volunteer is changing. Yes, the traditional mode of volunteering and some
traditional volunteer roles will remain. But I predict a tsunami of activist
volunteering and organisations in the next five years.

If we don’t change and change soon our roles will be
inconsequential.

Citizens in our communities want to disrupt. Are we ready to
be disrupt leaders?

Citizens want to be agile and flexible - are we agile and flexible
enough to go with them?

Citizens want to take action now on the cause they believe in.
If we stifle their ambition with too much paperwork and bureaucracy they will
walk away from us and do it anyway. They will baulk at traditional on boarding
methods of volunteering. And they will demand to see the impact of their
volunteering. They will also want more of a say in how their movement or
organisation operates. They will reject hierarchy. Not for them the bottom rung
of the organisational chart! They will lead and cast aside tired leadership
methods, soundbites and ways of doing things. They will not tolerate any lack
of diversity. They will not tolerate anyone thinking “young people don’t stick
around”. They won’t be there for you every Tuesday at 9am and in fact will be
there when they are ready to be there. They may not accept the title “Volunteer”
and will run if you call them a Vollie. They won’t be patronised and they will
tell you to stuff your four hour orientation program! They will demand you
utilise the best technology available and they will not be silenced on social
media.

We need to lead volunteers now for social justice and
action. We need to lead volunteers now to save our environment. We need to lead
volunteers to take action on homelessness. We need to lead volunteers who want
to change our political discourse. We need to lead volunteers who want
compassionate action for refugees. We need to lead volunteers who have the
ideas that will make our globe a better place to live in. We need to embrace
virtual volunteering. And if we are to remain relevant in our leadership they
will demand that we earn their respect by being a voice for action and by
having the skills to mobilise people and effect real change.

We may have to throw out most things we think we know about
volunteer management. The theme for this year’s International Volunteer
Managers Day is apt. Change is bulldozing its way through history. We either go
with it or get out of the way.

Friday, November 2, 2018

Recently I had the honour spending the day with a Homelessness Service on the Gold Coast. We spent
the day doing a vegetable and flower garden makeover, preparing and cooking
some yummy dishes, serving the residents at lunch and doing a major cleanout of
some cupboards! We also met and spent some time with the residents and staff
who inspired us with their resilience and dedication. Getting away from our
busy CBD office for the day and witnessing one of our services on the frontline
was a very fulfilling experience. It brought home to us how we are all linked
in providing these vital services to our community. It is compassion, humanity
and service in action and we all have our unique part to play.

For me it was a uniquely personal experience. This was
the second time within a yearI had worked with a homeless service.

Both experiences stirred a long distant memory. Long
distant but never forgotten. Allow me to tell you the story.

It was a smile that opened the floodgates.
She continued to smile at me but a look of concern began to sprout on her face.
I looked away. I was wet, and cold, and scared. I was alone amongst 8.8 million
people in a strange city and this lady’s kind smile had made me cry on the
Tube. I was far from the babbling brooks and caressing countryside of Ireland
but events taking place would shape my future.

“Shhhh. Listen..” My dad had stopped in his
tracks with a hand in the air to indicate that attention must be paid. It was
three years earlier in the countryside of Rathmore, a lush rural community in
Kerry. Innocent days. I stopped walking and cast my eyes over the vast
landscape that enveloped the ferny bog land, meandering meadows, heather
and the ancient mountains. My 17 year old heart filled with joy at the sound of
the cuckoo singing her song as though she was welcoming us to her home.

We walked on. We had only gone a few
minutes into our walk, an event that had recently become a ritual for dad and
me. It was a bonding time. “Who lives there?” asked dad as we passed a
neighbours house. “The O Leary’s dad” Dad knew this I thought to myself but
said nothing. When we came to the next house he asked the same question. Again
I answered knowing that he knew. A few houses later and by now a few miles from
home I began struggling to name who lived in each house. He began providing the
answers and named every household we came across dotted along that isolated
road. On the return home he asked again to make sure that I had remembered the
names. And then he stopped walking and as I stopped with him expecting the
cuckoo song once more he explained “Community Diarmuid. We live in a community,
a good community and it’s very important to know who your neighbours are. And as
a car rambled past us and as they exchanged waves with dad he finished with
“Always remember the importance of community” . Dad’s no longer of this world
but I have never forgotten those words. Words that have shaped my view on
community.

Sitting on that train in London three years
later, community was far away from my mind. I had travelled to London to
take up a sales job, door to door selling fire safety equipment. For a rural
young lad it was an exciting prospect. The company would reimburse your flight
there (never happened) and put you up in hotels (2 stars) and feed you! (Tea
and toast every morning only). They promised the world and delivered a hard
life lesson. So with less than a hundred pounds in my back pocket I
headed for the bright lights of London, a green eared country boy who had only
been to a much smaller city like Dublin on a couple of occasions.

It worked like this. At the crack of dawn
after our toast we would pile into 3 or 4 different minibuses and we would be
dispatched to various streets of London. Once there we would go door to door
for a couple of hours trying to sell fire extinguishers, fire blankets and
smoke alarms. Beginners luck granted me two sales on my first day so I was
spared the wrath. About 3 days in and I hadn’t been selling.I felt people simply didn’t trust people
selling these items door to door but I kept those thoughts to myself. It was a
freezing London morning and I had just done a two hour stint with no sale. With
only a jumper on over a tee shirt I tried to keep warm by walking up and down
the street. The mini bus appeared with my supervisor driving. He slowly go out
of his car and approached me. “Any sales” he queried. I muttered a sheepish no
and made the mistake of smiling. It was nerves. With that he unleashed a
cascade of verbal abuse, the likes I had never encountered before or since! I
stood frozen as spittle spayed from his angry mouth. I heard the words about
been thrown out on the streets if I didn’t improve. I became aware of people
stopping on the street to look but no offers of help came. It would have been a
confusing looking scene. ‘Your jumper” he shouted. I looked at him blankly.
‘Take off your damn jumper and give it to me” he continued. He moved much
closer to me. I complied. “Now you stand on this spot and don’t move and I will
be back in an hour to take you back to the hotel. Slamming the car door he got
back into the bus and left me standing in zero degrees in my tee shirt. But the
cold wasn’t the only thing I was shaking from. I decided there and then that I
was quitting this job but I couldn’t think of anything else. I knew though I
hadn’t a penny on me.

Suddenly a parking ticket officer and another man were standing
next to me. They had seen what had happened and here were members of the
community concerned about this bewildered young man in his tee-shirt. After
decline their suggestion to go to the police I explained the bind I was in. One
of the guys was a foreman on a building set and said he could give me work but
it wouldn’t be for 2 weeks. So I took the sites address grateful that there was
light at the end of the hotel.

When I got picked up again by the bus my jumper was thrown at me
and I sat quietly on the bus with the other young sales people who were also
hushed. Perhaps their morning had been just as bad.Arriving safely at the hotel I approached the
supervisor and handed in two weeks’ notice.Instead, despite my protestations, I was ordered to pack my bag and
leave the hotel. So there I was in a part of London that I knew nothing about
without a job, without a home and without money. One of the other salespeople
who had seen my plight quickly came out to see me. He handed me a note of paper
with a address on it – “It’s a homeless shelter for Irish people – so catch the
tube there and good luck’ with that he quickly ran back inside.

It began to rain and I cried with the sky walking to the tube.
Pride stopped me from contacting my family in Ireland. I didn’t want to be seen
as a failure. Pride is a silly thing. I had no money for the tube so I raced in
behind someone else at the barrier at the station and ran to the train as
someone shouted angrily at me from behind.

The hostel took me in. I was given a room to share with another
young man and that night I cried for hours, alone, scared and with a terrible
deep sadness. How could the world be so cruel I thought as an exhausted body
eventually drifted into sleep?

In the morning it was all gone. I had actually fallen asleep
with my clothes and sneakers still on. My bags were empty. Clothes, shoes.
Personal items, everything had been stolen from right under my nose.All I was left with were the clothes I wore.

After crying for the first few days I began to take a look
around me in this hostel. Homeless people were being fed three meals a day and
had a bed and shelter. I saw staff, chaplains and volunteers all offering a
helping hand. I was given some money to buy hygiene and other items. I could
not believe the generosity of people. Why were they helping me? Why were they
spending most days here offering support?I found tears in my eyes would now come for a different reason. These
people inspired me. And I wanted to help. I sat with a counsellor and asked if
I could help in any way for the rest of my time here. There wasn’t any need for
extra help then but we spoke of my desire to work helping others. I had vowed
in my heart there and then that I would, if I could, end up working for the
community.

I left after a few weeks with the address for the building site.
I thanked these community members who had been there for me in this dark time
and I walked with a spring in my step the 13 kilometres to the other side of
London. I still had no money and no accommodation but this job offered hope.
After the end of the first day’s work a worker had offered me a place to stay for
the night. Before I left another approached me and handed me an envelope. They
had heard of my plight and done a collection amongst the workers. In the
envelope was a few hundred pounds enough for a deposit on a place to stay! For
about the twentieth time in as many days I was crying again.

I’ve never forgotten that vow I made in London. Not long after
arriving in Australia and after taking a dead end job again I walked away
finally and absorbed myself in studying Human and Community Services at a TAFE in
Brisbane. I have never looked back and have now spent over 21 years helping
community through managing volunteers and volunteering myself.

I have seen how community works as a giver and receiver.
Sometimes I still tear up when I see volunteers getting together to help the
vulnerable in our society. Working in community will always inspire me.
Community is the light that still shines despite the turmoil, despite the
tragedy and despite the fear. Dad was right. We should know our neighbours. But
in this global village we are all neighbours. We are all community.

As Leo Buscaglia told us
“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a
listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of
which have the potential to turn a life around.”

Got a story to share: Contact DJ

This is my personal blog on matters pertaining to Volunteer Management,Volunteerism and sometimes life in general. It consists of my own opinions and does not represent the opinions of any other person, business or organization.

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About Me

Irish born, DJ Cronin commenced volunteering for organisations at the age of 15 and has been active in the volunteering sector for most of his life. DJ believes that volunteerism is a powerful movement for betterment and change in our society, and he is a passionate advocate for the sector of volunteer management as well as effective volunteer engagement and development.